Wall St. Fears Go Beyond Shutdown

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ and CHARLIE SAVAGE, NYT

With Washington preoccupied by the government shutdown, Wall Street is shifting its attention to an even more worrisome situation: the possibility that the government could run out of money within the next few weeks, forcing an unprecedented default on its debt.

The Treasury said last week that Congress had until Oct. 17 to raise the limit on how much the federal government could borrow or risk leaving the country on the precipice of default. If the debt ceiling is not raised by then, the Treasury estimates it will be left with about only $30 billion in cash, which would be used up in a matter of days.

As a result, economists and investors have quietly begun to explore the options the White House might have in the event Congress fails to act.

The most widely discussed strategy would be for President Obama to invoke authority under the 14th Amendment and essentially order the federal government to keep borrowing, an option that was endorsed by former President Bill Clinton during an earlier debt standoff in 2011.

(More here.)